


The Sins of the Father

by orphan_account



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Archie who?, BAMF Veronica, Clueless Men, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Jealous Jughead, Jeronica, Jughead has it bad, Jughead jones is a sweetheart, Pizza, Pre-Relationship, Protective FP Jones II, Protective Jughead Jones, Short & Sweet, These two are adorable, Veronica deserves better, Vughead, and also a babe, but doesn't realise, mentions of Bughead and Varchie, southside serpents, the case of the missing wallet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-22 06:24:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15575730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Jughead Jones has never been Veronica Lodge's number one fan, but after working closely together to help her open her Speakeasy bar things change between the two of them, secrets come to light and feelings that were not there before start to come out.Maybe, just maybe, these two might actually have a shot at happiness together.





	The Sins of the Father

Jughead Jones had never been Veronica Lodge’s number one fan. He tolerated her presence because she was Betty’s friend, and later Archie’s girlfriend.

 

Well, tolerated is probably a bit harsh, he liked her. She was… spunky, funny when she wanted to be. She was smart, devious, calculating and she was razor sharp. Sometimes he thought that out of all of them, Veronica was the most like him, they were two sides of the same coin.

 

Then he found out she was helping her family ruin Riverdale and, well, he didn’t really know how to feel. He was angry, pissed off, hurt, and yeah, more than a little betrayed.

 

But he couldn’t find it in himself to hate her.

 

Then, when she came to him with her plan to get back Pop’s, and to give his dad a better job than the one Hiram had ripped from him he began to think that maybe, just maybe, Veronica Lodge was a better person than he’d given her credit for.

 

None of them had known or even could have guessed what going up against her father had really cost her. How could they?

 

Veronica, once she had her mind set on something, was a truly unstoppable force. While he helped Betty deal with the fallout of her father being the Black Hood, Veronica, with the help of his dad, had thrown herself into opening the Speakeasy in the basement of Pop’s.

 

He wanted to be there for Betty, but the more he tried to be there the more he felt her slipping away from him. Then one day he’d received a text from her. She said that she was leaving Riverdale with her mom for a bit. She needed space, time away from Riverdale to heal.

 

She said she wasn’t in the right place for a relationship.

 

While it hurt, and it did hurt, he understood. Somewhere inside of him he realised what Betty wasn’t saying. She wasn’t coming back to Riverdale for a while, maybe even ever.

 

So, to distract himself, he too threw himself into helping out Veronica. he wasn’t the only one, either. Cheryl, Toni, Fangs and even Sweet Pea had all pitched in to help get the Speakeasy up and ready to open.  

 

At first he’d thought they were doing it for his dad or maybe even for him out of some weird sense of loyalty, but after watching Sweet Pea and Toni laugh uproariously at something Veronica had said, he wasn’t so sure anymore. They seemed to genuinely like Veronica, which was… odd.

 

When he’d pulled Toni aside one night after they’d finished for the day and asked why they were all putting in so much time and effort for Veronica of all people, she’d drawn one eyebrow up and snorted, “Are you blind, Jones? Ronnie’s a good person, and she needs our help. Besides, she’s practically one of us now,” and then she’d sauntered off to find go and find Cheryl and head home.

 

_One of us._

 

Surely she didn’t mean a Serpent, right? Veronica Lodge was perhaps the _last_ person he ever thought would want to join the Southside Serpents, and yet-

 

And yet Veronica seemed determined to make this Speakeasy of hers into a place where the Southsiders felt welcome. He couldn’t deny, Veronica would look damned fine in a Southside jacket (she looked good in everything apparently), but that wasn’t the point. The Serpents were a family, and he just wasn’t sure Veronica was quite cut out for that kind of family.

 

And _yet_.

 

He watched her as she flitted around Pop’s, directing, herding, cleaning, painting, organising, and she seemed to genuinely be trying to involve everyone who wanted to help. He half expected her to be a little dictator, but she wasn’t. She had a mop in her hand just as often as the rest of them. Everyone who pitched in got lunch and/or dinner on the house, she made sure of it every single day.

 

He realised that he’d missed her. Missed hanging out with her when there wasn’t some hidden agenda going on. They developed a routine together, and always, _always_ , took their afternoon break together, just the two of them.

 

It was sacred.

 

The both of them were going through so much shit and for those twenty minutes, every day, they could just be themselves and vent over milkshakes and hot chips. It was the highlight of his day, every damn day.

 

He took an odd sense of pride for every time he made her laugh when she was on the verge of tears. He liked seeing her happy, and he found that as the days turned into weeks, he went out of his way to try and find little ways to make Veronica Lodge smile.

 

xxx

 

Since he had known her, Jughead had never once seen Veronica Lodge looking anything but pristine, polished and perfect. He found that he rather liked seeing her dressed in overalls and an old tee (god only knew where she’d gotten that one), paint smudges everywhere, her normally sleek black hair twisted up in a messy bun. She had always been beautiful, but it was a different kind of beauty that shone through when she worked.

 

He clearly wasn’t the only one who thought so either, he’d caught Sweet Pea more than once checking her out and flirting shamelessly with her, and it irritated him to no end.

 

“Knock it off, would you,” Jughead had grumbled, shoving past the older Serpent on his way to shelve some boxes out the back in storage.

 

“Why? Vee’s super fucking hot. You jealous, Jones?” he’d laughed, winking at him.

 

Jughead scoffed, “Don’t be ridiculous. Ronnie’s got a boyfriend-“

 

Sweet Pea cut him off with a scoff, “In prison, not much of a hurdle to overcome, trust me. And you supposedly have a girlfriend too, Jones, but that doesn’t seem to be stopping you from making heart eyes at the boss now, does it?”

 

Jughead rolled his eyes, but Sweet Pea had already sauntered off back upstairs. What the hell was he talking about? He was not ‘making heart eyes’ at anybody. Much less Veronica Lodge, of all people!

 

Even his dad, Forsythe Pendleton the Second, liked Veronica. He often found the two of them sitting in one of the booths upstairs, discussing business strategies and menus and plans for the place.

 

“She’s got a good head on her shoulders,” FP had said. “She’s a damned fine kid. Quite a looker, too.” And then he’d winked at Jughead, leaving him even more puzzled than he was before. Why was everyone winking at him these days? Was he missing out on some joke everyone else seemed in on?

 

Nevertheless, it wasn’t hard to see that Veronica was working her ass off to make everything happen. She was always the first in, always the last to leave, even after Pop Tate himself.

 

Then one night after a long day at Pop’s, FP popped his head into Jughead’s room.

 

“You haven’t seen my wallet, have you?”

 

Jughead frowned, “No, why?”

 

FP fixed him with a deadpan look, “Why do you think? It’s not here. I must have left it at Pop’s today. Shit!”

 

“So? We’ll just go and get it tomorrow, what’s the big deal?”

 

“The ‘big deal’ is that the pizza I just ordered for our dinner isn’t gonna pay for itself, and unless you’re offering to buy it, I need my wallet.”

 

“Don’t you have cash here?” he asked, gesturing at the trailer.

 

FP’s eyes narrowed, “Jug…“

 

With a dramatic sigh, Jughead hauled himself to his feet, “Fine, fine. I’ll run to Pop’s and see if it’s there.”

 

FP smiled at that, “Atta boy!”

 

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes but unable to help the smile that crept across his face Jughead picked up the spare set of keys to Pop’s and his bike helmet and off he went.

 

By the time he got to Pop’s it was just before eight, Ronnie and the rest of the crew were long gone, but of course the diner was still open.

 

“Hey, Pop,” Jughead called as he breezed through the door. “My dad left his wallet behind, mind if I head downstairs and take a look?”

 

Pop merely smiled and waved him through, busying himself behind the counter. It was only when Jughead had slipped on down the staircase that Pop froze on the spot as a look sudden realisation crossed his face.

 

“Oh, shit!” he cursed softly, screwing his face up in frustration. But it was pointless, it was too late to stop the boy now.

 

xxx

 

Jughead leapt down the stairs, taking them two at a time. It’s dark down there, but he felt across the wall until he found the light switch and flicked it on.

 

Hm. He was hoping that his dad’s wallet would just be sitting on one of the little tables they’d set up, or up on the counter at the bar, but no such luck. The place was pristine, as it was every night when they left. Ronnie practically demanded it, it was her one, weird, unbreakable rule.

 

He smiled softly at the thought, weaving through the room, his eyes flitting from table to table, just in case.

 

Nope. No wallet.

 

He must have left it out the back in the office behind the bar. Either that or some asshole had taken it.

 

“Pop? Is that you?”

 

Jughead’s heart skipped a beat at the unmistakable sound of Veronica’s voice calling through the empty bar from somewhere out back.

 

Quick and quiet he made a beeline for the bar, practically leapt over it. It was only when he was behind the bar that he caught sight of the thin line of light emanating from beneath the office door.

 

His hand reached for the doorknob and he practically threw the door open, waltzing inside like he owned the place.

 

He wasn’t quite sure what he expected to see, but Veronica dressed in her fancy silk PJ’s, hair up in a messy bun, lying on the couch reading a novel with a blanket thrown over her was not it.

 

“Jesus Christ, Jug! Ever heard of knocking?!” she yelled, dropping her book and putting one hand over her heart to calm herself. “What are you doing down here?”

 

Jughead scoffed, “What am I doing here? Ronnie, what are _you_ doing here? Are you,” he glanced around the office, noticing the open suitcase full of clothes and the dizzying array of toiletries set out along the top of the desk, “Ronnie, are you living here?!”

 

Veronica paled. “Uh, no. Nope,” she said as she scrambled to get up off the couch. At Jughead’s disbelieving look she tried again, “Well, I mean yes… technically. Just for a few days. We’re opening soon and I just wanted to stay back a bit and make sure everything was ready for the… grand opening.” She gestured vaguely around the office, nodding slightly, and it struck Jughead, not for the first time, that Veronica was a truly atrocious liar.

 

“What the hell, Veronica!? Why aren’t you at home? Does Pop know you’re down here? Does your dad?” he demanded, stalking across the floor until he was face to face with her. “How long have you been doing this?”

 

Veronica plastered a cheery smile on her face. “It’s fine, Jughead, really. Don’t even worry about it. So, is there-“

 

“Fine?! Veronica, you’re living out of a goddamned office behind a bar under a diner. Why don’t you just go home?”

 

For a moment there is nothing but silence and tension between the pair of them. Jughead was staring at her with such fierce intensity, and Veronica was smiling so hard that her cheeks hurt. Then, after days of being bright and chirpy and strong and _fine,_ something inside of Veronica just snapped and her just face crumpled under the weight of all the pressure and pain of the last few weeks, and she started to sob.

 

Jughead had never been the best at dealing with emotions, his or anybody else’s for that matter, but he didn’t think twice about sweeping Veronica into his arms as she started to cry, one hand rubbing soothing circles into her back while the other cradled her head, stroking her hair, resisting the strange urge to kiss her forehead as well.

 

“I can’t, Jug,” she whimpered, returning the embrace. “I can’t go home.”

 

“Why not? Surely it’s better than living here,” he said.

 

Veronica just sobbed harder, “No, I mean I _can’t_ go home. My parents, my dad… he kicked me out. They disowned me, cut me off. I don’t have a home to go _to_.”

 

Jughead’s arms tightened around her, and with horrifying clarity he realised what Veronica had really traded to save Pop’s. He was an idiot. He should have seen it earlier… All this time Veronica had been an absolute powerhouse, always first in, always the last to leave. He’d known she was stressed (though she hid it well around everyone else), it hadn’t escaped him that she never spoke of her parents unless she absolutely had to, but he never thought things were that bad.

 

And here he thought that Hiram Lodge couldn’t be anymore fucking despicable. He felt a strong swell of hatred towards the older man grow inside of him. He didn’t know how, but he would absolutely fucking make Hiram regret hurting Ronnie.

 

“All the money I have, I put into Pop’s and the Speakeasy. I don’t- I can’t…” she trailed off with another sniffle.

 

“Hey, shhh, it’s gonna be fine, Ronnie, but you can’t stay here,” he breathed softly. He felt her pull away and reluctantly he let her, slipping his hands to her waist.

 

“I don’t have anywhere else to go,” she mumbled, staring up at him with red rimmed, doe eyes. It occurred to him that without even trying, Veronica Lodge had managed to bewitch him, mind body and soul. He was pretty sure that at that point there was very little he wouldn’t do to stop her from ever looking at him like that again.

 

Jughead sighed, reaching out with one hand to gently brush the tears from her cheeks with his thumb. “Yeah you do. Come on.”

 

Veronica gave him a watery smile. “Jughead, no. I can’t ask-“

 

Jughead seized her face in his hands and before she could utter another word he silenced her with a kiss.

 

Something just… clicked. It felt right. Amazing, actually.  

 

Her lips were soft, he could taste the remnants of the apricot and peach chapstick she’d been wearing that day. God, if he’d knowing kissing Ronnie would taste that good, he would have kissed her much sooner. In fact, he _definitely_ should have kissed her a whole lot sooner.

 

The kiss only lasted a few moments, but when they broke apart Jughead couldn’t stop the satisfied smile that crept across his face.

 

“You’re not asking, I’m telling you. You’re coming home with me, Lodge.”

 

He held out his hand and she paused for just a single second before a small smile broke across her face. “Okay,” she said as she took it.

 

She grabbed a few essentials, and, still dressed in her silky pyjamas they left the office and the basement, Jughead snatching his dad’s wallet from the top of the filing cabinet as they went.

 

xxx

 

“Jughead, you find it? Pizza’s gonna be here in five so I sure as shit hope you did,” FP asked from the couch as the front door to the trailer opened.

 

“I did indeed. Found something else at Pop’s too,” Jughead said cryptically, leading Veronica inside by the hand.

 

FP turned in surprise just as Jughead threw the wallet, and just barely managed to dodge the flying leather. His brown eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Veronica Lodge wearing PJ’s and standing in his trailer, _holding hands_ with his son.

 

“Hi, Mr Jones,” she said with an uncharacteristically meek smile, hiding slightly behind Jughead, who was currently giving his father a very pointed look.

 

_Please, for the love of god, don’t make a scene._

 

The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife, but while FP Jones was many things, he wasn’t an asshole, nor was he stupid.

“Veronica, good to see you, sweetheart,” he said as warmly as he could manage. His piercing eyes flashed to Jughead. “You, my room, now.”

 

Jughead nodded, “Don’t move,” he murmured to Veronica, leaning down to give her a quick peck on her cheek before he let go of her hand and stalked off to the back of the trailer.

 

FP gave Veronica one more unreadable look before he followed his son out of the living room and into his bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind him.

 

“Mind telling me what the fuck Ronnie is doing in our trailer looking like she’s ready for a sleepover, Jug?” he asked, his voice hard and unflinching.

 

Jughead met his father’s gaze with a glare of his own. “Did you know she’s been sleeping at Pop’s, dad?”

 

FP’s face screwed up in surprise, looking at Jughead like he’d just pulled the worlds stupidest prank. Whatever FP had been expecting him to say, it wasn’t that. “What do you mean, sleeping at Pop’s? Of course not!” A look of comprehension slowly settles on his face as the realisation finally dawned upon him. Jesus fucking Christ. “Ronnie’s been sleeping at Pop’s?”

 

Jughead nodded, unable to stop his fists from clenching at his sides. He was angry at himself for not noticing, angrier still at her dickhead of a father for putting her there.

 

FP sighed, his eyes fluttering closed as he leaned wearily back against the door. “For how long?”

 

“Since she traded the Wyrm for Pop’s. It was part of their ‘ _terms and conditions’_ ,” he scoffed, his tone scathing. “Her parents cut her off and kicked her out. She doesn’t have anywhere else to go, dad. Please,” he took a step towards his father, hands clasped in front of him, literally begging. “Please don’t make her go back.”

 

FP shook his head with an unpleasant laugh. “Un-fucking-believable. I always knew Hiram Lodge was a piece of shit, never thought he’d stoop that fucking low.”

 

“He literally tried to have me beaten to death less than two months ago,” Jughead reminded him with a scowl, crossing his arms tightly over his chest.

 

FP snorted darkly, shaking his head. “Yeah, and he’ll pay for that, believe me. But Veronica’s his flesh and blood, it’s different. Family should always come first. I would have done anything to get you back when you left home, Jug. I can’t imagine giving that up, not ever.”

 

For a moment neither of them spoke, both thinking about the pretty dark haired girl in the other room.

 

“She did it for _us_ , dad. You can’t make her go back to Pop’s!”

 

Jughead’s face was set in fierce determination as he stared down his father. He wasn’t backing down, not now, not when it came to Veronica.

 

FP threw his hands up in front of himself in a peace-making gesture. “Jesus, will you relax? Ronnie’s not going anywhere, she’s one of us; family”

 

Jughead visibly relaxed, deflating like a balloon against the wall cabinet behind him. “Thanks, dad,” he said. “Really.”

 

“So you really like her, huh?” FP asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively

 

Part of him wanted to just roll his eyes with that sardonic smirk of his and walk away, but he didn’t. Instead he looked his father in the eye and told the honest to god truth.

 

“Yeah, I really, really do.” And god help him, he couldn’t stop the smile that crossed his face.

 

FP chuckled, reaching over and mussing Jughead’s dark hair like he used to when Jug was younger. “Good for you. You make sure you treat her right; she’s been through enough.”

 

Jughead nodded. He had no intentions of fucking this (whatever ‘this’ was) up.

 

FP muttered something that sounded suspiciously like ‘fucking finally’ under his breath before he pulled his son into a tight hug. Then, with all said and done, the two men broke apart and with a nod at each other they opened the door and walked back out into the living room.

 

Veronica, who had been standing somewhat awkwardly in the middle of the room, whirled around at the sight of them, her face pinched into a tense smile that made Jughead’s heart ache.

 

He really should have seen how bad things were sooner.

 

“The pizza came while you two were talking, so I took some money from your wallet Mr Jones to pay for it, I hope you don’t mind…” she trailed off uneasily, her dark eyes darting between Jughead and FP. Then, after a tense beat she sighed, her poor excuse for a smile dropping quicker than a quarter from a rooftop, “I’m sorry, I should really go. I don’t mean to impose; I’ve already caused you guys enough problems-”  


“You’re not going anywhere,” FP said cutting her off. “I know it ain’t the Pembrooke, but it’s a damn sight better than Pop’s basement. It’s your home as long as you want, Veronica.”

 

Veronica beamed at him, and Jughead was struck, once again, by how utterly beautiful she was. Unable to help himself he crossed the room and pulled her into his arms.

 

“Looks like you’re stuck with me, Lodge.”

 

Veronica smirked. “There are worse fates in the world,” she said, reaching up on her toes to plant a quick kiss on his cheek. He caught her face in his hands before she could go too far and gently guided her back up for another, this time on his lips. “Thank you, Jug. I really mean it.”

 

Jughead went to reply but was cut off by his father clearing his throat and waving a box of pizza in front of their faces. “You two gonna eat, or what? Pizza’s getting cold.”

 

They both laughed, taking the box and sitting down next to each other, legs intertwined on the old leather sofa, the pizza sitting between them.

 

“Hope you like Hawaiian,” Jughead said, pulling out a slice and passing it to her before taking one for himself.

 

“It’s my favourite, actually,” she said, snuggling into his side as she took a bite.

 

It wasn’t perfect, this messy situation of theirs. Jughead knew there were still battles to fight and work to be done, not to mention the numerous hurdles they still had to cross. Tonight though, with Veronica curled up against him, safe, loved, eating delicious pizza and laughing at something his dad had said, he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed, please let me know with some Kudos and comments!
> 
> Also Hawaiian pizza is amazing and I will fight you on this, I don't want to hear any hate, haha.


End file.
